Greenhouse flat carrier



Oct. 30, 1962 R. G. MILLER 3,061,350

GREENHOUSE FLAT CARRIER Filed June 28, 1961 3 INVENTOR. 5/ 53 5/ RICHARD e. MILLER E F lg. 5 BY 27 7 29 BUCKHORN, CHEATHAM a BLORE ATTORNEYS United States Patent ffiC P s... 0...30,1962

Filed June 28, 1961, Ser. No. 120,434 1 Claim. (Cl. 294-16) This invention relates to carriers for flats and similar boxes and containers used around greenhouses and in handling comcstibles, and relates particularly to carriers of the tongs type for gripping a flat.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide a carrier of the above described type which is simpler and less expensive than prior carriers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carrier of the general type under discussion which is constructed primarily of tubular parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carrier having arms adjustably connected to handle portions to enable adjustment of the size of the carrier to conform to the size of a flat to be handled.

A still further object of the invention is to provide arms which are adjustable to diiferent positions of orientation relative to the handle portions for other handling operations.

Various other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein;.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier of the present invention showing it in handling position in relation to a fiat, which is shown in lighter lines;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the carrier showing the same in full lines in its inoperative position and in broken lines in its operative position, the scale of FIG. 2 being larger than FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the carrier disclosed in FIG. 2, but showing the carrier in its operative position;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view on a smaller scale than in the above figures showing the carrier with the arms in different positions of orientation for engaging the interior of a flat.

Referring to FIG. 1, the carrier is indicated generally by the reference numeral 11 and is shown in its operative condition or position for handling a flat 13, which conventionally is made of wood. The carrier comprises a pair of angular tubular arms 15 and 17 having aligned horizontal portions 19 and 21 respectively, and parallel depending portions 23 and 25 respectively. The depending portions extend approximately at right angles to the horizontal portions and the depending portions are disposed remote from the center of the carrier.

An angular jaw plate is provided on the lower end of each arm, and each jaw plate has a horizontal portion 27 for resting on the upper edge of a side wall of a flat 13, and a vertical portion 29 for engaging the outer surface of such side wall. The vertical portion 29 has dogs or prongs 30 struck therefrom, with said dogs or prongs jointed to the remainder of the vertical portion at the lower portions of said dogs or prongs.

Referring to FIG. 4, the aligned portions 19 and 21 of the arms 15 and 17 are telescopically received within a pair of tubular handle pieces 31 and 33 respectively. Each of the portions 19 and 2.1 is provided with a plurality of holes 35 extending therethrough in a direction perpendicular to the plane of its arm to selectively receive a bolt 37 which extends through a matching hole in the associated handled piece and is secured in place by a wing nut 39 (FIG. 3). I

The right hand end portion of the tubular piece 31 is cut away to leave a hand engaging part 41 which is deformed downwardly as is shown in FIG. 4 to fit under the left hand portion of the tubular piece 33 in saddle fashion when the pieces 31 and 33 are aligned. The left hand end of the piece 33 is pivotally connected to the piece 31, at about the juncture of the hand engaging part 41 with the remainder of the piece 31, by a pivot pin 43- which may be in the form of a loose rivet. The upper right hand margin of the piece 31 is deformed upwardly to accommodate pivotal movement of the piece 33 relative to the piece 31. V

For convenience, the arm 15 and the piece 31 may be considered as an angular carrier member, and the arm 17 and the piece 33 may be considered as an angular carrier member.

To engage and handle a flat, the carrier members are pivoted to the full line positions shown in FIG. 2 to separate the angular jaw plates 27, 29 to enable them to fit onto the corners of opposed side walls of the fiat, such as shown in the case of the jaw plates in FIG. 1. When the jaw plates are in such positions, an upward force is applied to the hand engaging part 41 to draw the jaw plates together and to positively force the dogs 30 into the side walls of the flats by squeezing the hand engaging part 41 toward the piece 33.

By removing the bolts 37, the arms 15 and 17 can be swung to dispose them as shown in FIG. 5. In such positions, squeezing of the hand engaging part 41 towards the piece 33 will cause outward movement of the jaw plates 27, 29. The jaw plates project outwardly of the positions 23 and 25 and the just-mentioned outward movement will enable such projections not only to be fitted under the rails 51 of the flat 53 as shown in FIG. 5, but also to retain them in such position while carrying the flat.

Having illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claim:

A fiat carrier comprising:

a pair of opposed tubular arms each including a horizontal portion and a vertical portion,

a handle member connecting said horizontal portions, said handle member comprising a pair of pivotally connected, tubular elements telescopically receiving said horizontal portions, one in each,

one of said tubular elements having an integral concave-convex extension defining a hand grip which overlaps and embraces the other of said tubular elements when said tubular elements and said arm horizontal portions are aligned,

means adjustably securing said arm horizontal portions in said tubular elements for axial extension and retraction and -for rotation between two positions 180 with respect to one another, in one of which posieach said horizontal web extending laterally outwardly tions said hand grip is beneath said other tubular from said vertical portion and defining a shoulder element and in the other of which positions said hand adapted to engage beneath a rail on the inner side grip is above said other tubular element, whereby walls of a fiat so as to support said fiat,

in the first of said positions movement of said hand 5 each said vertical web having inwardly projecting dogs grip from a point remote from said other tubular adapted to engage the outer end wall of a fiat so as element upwardly toward said other tubular element 10 pp Said causes the lower ends of said vertical portions to move together and in the second of said positions References Cited in the me of this P movement of said hand grip from a point remote 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS from said other tubular element downwardly toward 1,041 949 Bandemer Oct 22 1912 sa d other tubular element causes the lower ends of 2,116,928 Hanneman May 10, 1938 sald vertical portlons to move apart, 2,445,265 Hargrave et a1 July 13 1948 each of said lower portions having on its lower end a jaw plate comprising a horizontal web and a vertical Web, t g I 

